Paintings of Life
by moonstar22
Summary: One shots about your favorite Harry Potter Characters. Most are just really random. Lenghts may vary and I make no promises on the sanity of the work. So Enjoy! and, most important of all, PLEASE REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1: A Father's Legacy

Hi!! So anyway. I'm supposed to put a discalimer up here but since you all know it anyway....(I don't own this...blah, blah, blah....It's all JKR's....blah,blah,blah), thought I'd say Hi!!

Enjoy these. Just random little shots of life. Some are funny, some are sad, some are long, some are short, some are just....odd.

But anyway, enjoy!!!

A Father's Legacy

Harry smiled, entering the office of the Head of the Aurors for the first time. He rubbed his hands over his desk before turning to sit on the large, couch-like chair behind it. He opened the top drawer of the desk and was surprised to see a long list stuffed inside. He turned to Shaklebolt, who was standing in the doorway, question in his eyes as he pulled out the parchment and held it up. The Minister laughed. "That's a list of all the old heads of department," he said. "Every office has one."

Harry nodded and opened it. At the bottom of the list, he saw his name, the bright violet ink still glistening. "Keep going," the Minister urged as harry unrolled the parchment. He only recognized a few names, scowling when he saw Pius Thickness, the head of department under Voldemort. Looking above that, he saw the name of the old minister, Rufus Scrigmore and Barty Crouch Sr. Further above that was Moody's name and….right below that a name he should recognize. He traced the long handwriting with his finger before turning up to see the Minister smile

"Didn't I tell you?" Shacklebolt asked Harry. "One of the greatest Heads we've had was Andrew Potter. We wanted his son, James or his daughter-in-law Lily to take over after he died but…" the Minister cut off, seeing the look on his new Department Head's face. In a trance, Harry traced the words formed by the slanted handwriting and the names "Andrew Potter", "James Potter", and "Lily Evans ", all written in brilliant violet ink.

His grandfather…..his father……his mother…..and looking further on the list, every few generations he saw a Potter. Hell, the founder of the Auror department and it's first three heads were Potters.

Harry smiled again. "Just carrying on the legacy."

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	2. Chapter 2: An Odd Conversation

**Discalimer: **I don't own any of this. But I do control their minds (Insert Evil Laugh here)

An Odd Conversation

Arthur Weasley smiled slightly, thinking of the night before and how beautiful Molly had looked. How the moonlight had glistened on her fiery red her red hair in a shade that so perfectly matched his own, the way she smiled and laughed and….. His thoughts were cut off by a knock on the door of the dormitory. With a sigh, Arthur stood up and opened it to reveal two first years, both only about half his height.

"Mr. Weasley," the first said formally. "I do not believe we've been introduced. I'm Fabian Prewett and this is my twin, Gideon." Arthur nodded. "Molly's brothers," he commented dryly.

"Precisely, Mr. Weasley," Fabian said. "Would you please join us for a walk near the lake?"

Arthur was taken aback for a moment before saying, "Alright. But I have to be in class in another half hour."

"So do we, Mr. Weasley," Gideon replied before motioning for Arthur to follow him and his brother down to the lake. They made an odd pair. Both Gideon and Fabian looked ready to kill, with their wands out while Arthur looked both frightened and confused. After all, Molly was their sister and so, chances are, she'd taught them at least ten curses already and they could perform all ten as well as she could. As they walked, the boys put their arms on Arthur's shoulders.

"Arthur Weasley," Fabian said as they reached the lake. "We understand that you've been seeing our sister."

Arthur nodded. "We've met. I visited your house a lot over the summer," he protested. "You know Molly and I've been….seeing each other since fifth year and we've been friends for a lot longer."

"You kissed her in fifth year," Gideon answered coldly. "It took you long enough. Did you know……were you aware that our sister, Molly, cried for three days straight when you kissed Andromeda Black for the first time? Were you aware that you broke her heart the moment you looked at Andromeda for the first time? Were you aware that Molly has rejected thousands of offers just because she was in love with you?"

Arthur looked guilty but nodded. "yes," he mumbled. "I knew."

"Well then, Mr. Weasley," Fabian said. "Then you will not be surprised to hear that, if you ever hurt our sister again, my brother and I will relieve you of your manhood."

On that day, Arthur vowed never to underestimate the power of a first year ever again.

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	3. Chapter 3: Hellos

**Disclaimer: **I own none of this!!!!!!!

I just manipulate it to help in my grand plan to take over the world. (mwahahaha!)

Hellos

Dudley sighed. Maybe….maybe this wasn't such a good idea. He'd parked his car outside what looked like a deserted lot but the moment he stepped closer, he saw a beautiful mansion rise out of the field. A mansion with elegant brick walls and a large porch on which sat two identical rocking chairs and what looked like an old broom. Dudley, however, knew better than to trust the seemingly innocent cleaning implements.

Maybe….maybe this was a mistake, Dudley thought as he stood on the doorstep, trying to invite his cousin, whom he hadn't seen in almost thirteen years, to his wedding. Gathering all his courage, he knocked on the door. Inside he heard a woman call, "Lily, can you get that?"

The door opened to reveal a little girl with bright red hair and brown eyes. If this was Harry's child, she looked nothing like him and for a moment, Dudley wondered whether or not he was in the right house.

"Ahhh," he started. "Is this the Potter residence?"

The girl nodded before yelling. "Al! James!" Two boys ran in and Dudley smiled with relief. Now, he knew he was in the right place. Both boys looked exactly like his cousin except for the fact that the older one's eyes were hazel, not green.

"What happened, Lils?" The older boy asked, not looking up.

"Um, James…" The younger boy muttered, tugging on his brother's shirt and pointing to Dudley.

"What, Al?" The older one asked before looking up, his annoyed expression turning to one of astonishment. He stuttered for a moment before screaming, "MOM!!"

A red-haired woman ran out of the kitchen, an old stick in her hand and flour streaking an old apron. "What?" she asked. "James, I told you I was…." The woman broke off when she saw Dudley.

"Um…hi," she said. "Can I help you?"

Dudley turned red before mumbling. "Is this the Potter Residence?" he asked and the woman nodded. "Is Mr. Potter home?" he asked, trying again.

"No," the woman answered. "But he'll be here in a few minutes. Might I know who you are?"

Dudley nodded, ashamed. "Yes," he replied. "I'm Dudley Dursely, his cousin."

"Oh, good heavens!" The woman smiled. "Well, in that case, come in. There are cookies in the oven and Harry'll be home any minute." Dudley smiled and followed the woman into the house. It was warm and open and airy and the delicate scent of flowers mixed with fresh cookies filled the room.

"I suppose I haven't introduced myself either," the woman said as she led him to a large room. I'm Ginny, Harry's wife. These are our kids. The eldest is James, Over there's Albus, we call him Al. And Lily, our only daughter." Dudley smiled and nodded at the kids.

Suddenly, he heard the door open and Ginny rushed out. Harry was finally home.

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	4. Chapter 4: Kisses 1

**Discalimer: All this belongs to JK. Please enjoy. I know it's short but have fun anyway.**

Kisses 1

After so long, Lily Evans had agreed to go out with James Potter. Now, after so long, James Potter had the girl of his dreams. It was their seventh year in Hogwarts and it was raining. Bloody English Weather!!! But, for once, James Potter wasn't complaining. It was the perfect day for snuggling with his Lily. They were spending the afternoon in the sitting room reserved for 7th years after deciding that the light was better in there. Because, of course, James and Lily were going to…….um, study. But, when a boy and a girl in love are alone, studying rarely gets done. Lily and James had spent five minutes together before getting bored of studying…yeah, that's why. Though you could say it all started when James decided to put his arm around Lily. Well, before you could blink, both afore mentioned Heads were on the long couch, snogging each other senseless. Suddenly, the door opened to reveal Sirius with his arms around a petite, blonde Ravenclaw girl.

"Oi!!!" Sirius cried. "That's my spot!!!!!"

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	5. Chapter 5: Kisses 2

**Disclaimer: All of it belongs to her......**

**Companion with the previous one. Sorry this too is short. I was busy.**

**Enjoy!!**

Kisses 2

After so long, Ginny Weasley had been noticed by Harry Potter. Now, after so long, they were finally together. It was Ginny's seventh year in Hogwarts and Harry had come to visit for the weekend. But, for once, Ginny Weasley wasn't complaining about the April rains and how it messed with Quiditch matches. It was the perfect day for snuggling with her Harry. They were spending the afternoon in the sitting room reserved for 7th years after deciding that the light was better in there. Because, of course, Harry was going to help Ginny with homework…yeah, that's why he was there. But, (sigh) unfortunately, when a boy and a girl in love are alone, studying rarely gets done. Ginny and Harry had been together or five minutes before Harry put his arm around his girlfriend. Well, before you could blink, both afore mentioned male and female were on the long couch, snogging each other senseless. Suddenly, the door opened to reveal Ron, who had also come for the weekend to spend time with Hermione.

"Oi!!!" Ron, who had long gotten over the fact that his little sister was dating his best friend, cried. "That's our spot!!!!!"

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	6. Chapter 6: Last Days 1

**Disclaimer: JKR owns it all. This is just a temporary loan.**

Last Days

They sat together, quietly, underneath a tree near Hogwarts, by the lake. Their spot. Her head, and her magnificent red hair, rested on his chest as he held her to him. She was crying.

"It can't be," She finally whispered.

"It is," he replied solemnly.

"I can't believe it. I don't want to believe it."

"Lily….we can't help them. They're beyond our help."

"And Sirius's cousin did this."

He nodded. "Only think what he would have been like," he answered. "If he had stayed."

"James, promise me," she said when she finally stopped crying. "Promise me that you'll protect Harry. I don't care what happens to me. Promise me you'll protect Harry."

"Lily, you can't ask me to choose between you two."

"I'm not asking you to choose, James Potter. I'm telling you. Your choice is made. Save my son. Save our son. He'll save us all one day."

He touched her cheek, pulling her towards him as he wrapped her in his embrace, stroking her mahogany red hair. "I promise."

Her gold and emerald wedding band glittered in the last rays of the setting sun, lingering longer than usual on the couple by the side of the lake as their lips met in a kiss filled with passion and despair.

Their last day of freedom.

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	7. Chapter 7: Just an Author's note

Authors Note:

Thanks for the reviews. I'm sorry that I haven't updated in a while. Life's finally caught up with me so…

Anyway. I'll try to update as often as I can but I make no promises.

Thanks for reading


	8. Chapter 8: Last Days 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of this. JKR does. But I like playing with it.**

**:-D**

**Enjoy**

Last Days II

She sighed, leaning against him, her red hair spreading out like fire over the dark of his robe as he held her close. She felt the weight of his hand around her waist and the touch of his lips as he kissed her deeply. And, for a moment, she allowed herself to break as she clung to him, sobbing. He held her close, wishing that he could break as well, wishing that he could stay.

"You're leaving," she said when she could finally catch her breath. A soft breeze whispered through the willow leaves that shielded them from unwanted eyes, especially the eyes of the ministry that were now always watching him.

"I have to, Gin," he answered, looking her in the eye. "Dumbledore's dead now and everything…everything he taught me….I'm the only one that can stop him. I…Gin, I have to."

She nodded, trying to stop her tears from falling once more. "Just….." she choked. "Just…Harry, please…I….promise me…promise me that….that you'll come back….that you'll come home again…that…" she broke off as the tears pilled hot and fast from her eyes.

He sighed. "Ginny, you know….I….I…I just can't, Gin," he said finally. "You know I can't promise anything but…..Gin, I need to know that you love me."

She touched his hair, pulling his head down so that she could kiss him. "Always," she whispered.

"I…I want you to have this," He replied as he slipped and emerald ring on her finger. "It was my mum's. I want you to keep it safe for me."

She nodded as she twisted the ring around her finger. She kissed him again, long, slow and sweet before he hugged her, turning away and walking out through the willow branches. She stood there, though, waiting, watching, as the twilight glittered gold through the leaves of the willow tree.

She stood there waiting as the sun set on their last golden day of peace.

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	9. Chapter 9: Last Days 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of this. JKR does. But it's fun playing with it. So.....**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of this. JKR does. But it's fun playing with it. So.....**

Last Days III

He touched her hair, waiting for her to say something, anything.

"You came back," she whispered. "You came back when I thought you'd left forever. You……you'll come back now."

"No, Dora," he answered. "My time has come. If I go, I'm not coming back."

"You have to," she answered, desperate. "You have to come back, or I'm coming with you. Please, Remus."

"Tonks, you know I can't." More than anything, he wanted to protect her. More than anything, he wanted her to stay here.

"I'm coming with you," she demanded. "Harry's my friend too. Sirius was my cousin. This is as much your battle as it is mine."

"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs," he commented. "That was the order we wrote. That's the order we're going to die in. The others are gone, Tonks. It's my turn. And if I'm going to die, it'll be protecting Harry."

"What about Teddy?" she demanded.

"Harry's as much my son as Teddy is," He answered. "And I'll never forgive myself if I stayed behind. I…please, Tonks, stay here."

He left and she stood there, shaking. It was a matter of minutes before she ran after him, a matter of minutes before she found him, a matter of minutes before she held him in her arms for the last time before feeling the curse hit her back, before falling, before she took his hand and they left forever, embarking on the next great journey together.

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	10. Chapter 10: Fobidden Love

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of this. I really wish I did, really I do.

But....JKR owns it, and I...am left in the dust.

Enjoy!!!

Forbidden Love

He touched her hair, slowly pulling her towards him until her eyes met his. He bent down until his lips met hers. Her arms wrapped around him, pulling him closer. His pale blonde hair hung messily around his face by the time they were finished and his face was flushed red. Her long, red-gold hair was tousled in a way that made her seem more beautiful and vibrant. Her lovely face was red.

"We don't belong together," she whispered, taking his hand in hers, smiling up at him.

"No," he answered. "We don't." He stopped her, kissing her again. She laughed the most beautiful laugh he'd ever heard and his face reddened again as he saw her pleasure.

"Our parents will never approve," she said, smiling at him.

"To hell with what my parents want," he said, taking her in his arms, holding her closer until he could feel her heart in his chest. "I love you, Lily."

"I love you too," she whispered into his shoulder.

He looked at her. "I love you, Lily Potter," he repeated. "And I want to spend the rest of my life with you." He drew away.

"Scorp…" she began. "Are you…."

"No," he answered, a light in his eyes, a light that Lily recognized. It was the same light that invaded his father's eyes whenever he saw her mother. It was the light she saw in Uncle Ron's eyes when he looked at Aunt Hermione. She smiled.

"No," he continued. "I will. But I want to do it right."

"Yes," she answered. "My answer will always be yes."

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	11. Chapter 11: In Dreams 1

**Disclaimer: **As always, this all belongs to JKR. I just get to play with it.

I must admit, I quite enjoy medling in their lives. :-D

But anyway, the title of this was imspired by Lord of the Rings. I hope you enjoy it.

In Dreams I

She sighed, turning over in her sleep. Because for the first time since her sixth year began, her mind was not filled with darkness and despair, her dream was not one of darkness. In her mind's eye, she saw his eyes, bottle green, sparkling and glittering like the emeralds in the ring he'd given her before he left. His dark hair, messy, tousled, falling lazily into his eyes, shone in the pale morning sunlight.

They were near a river, by a pond where the sun always shined and the willows were green and vibrant with life, so unlike the cold gray stone of the castle that she could taste the freedom it radiated. She smiled at him as his arm slipped around her waist, drawing her closer to him.

Underneath her, the grass was crushed under his strong, lean chest. He held her close in a hug filled with love and compassion, his muscular arms around her as he stroked her brilliant red hair, comforting her as she clung to him. She kissed him, not afraid for the first time in a long time.

They were here, together. He was here and he loved her, he was hers.

"I love you, Ginny," he whispered and she could almost hear his voice on the breeze that floated in from the open window. "I will always love you."

"I love you too," she answered in her sleep, her words barely forming. "I'll never let you go." For a moment, the sunlight vanished, and the shine in his green eyes disappeared, snuffed out like the sun when passed behind a cloud.

"They're coming," he said, his face darkening. "They're coming for me, my love. They will not stop until they find me……until," his voice broke. "Until they kill me." He stood suddenly, and walked away, disappearing in the clouds that suddenly surrounded the lake.

And she was alone once again, the darkness closing in around her like a cloak of rain and cloud. It was cold, and she felt the chill , like that of a dementor's kiss wash over her.

Ginny Weasley sat bolt upright, panting, gasping for breath as she searched her dormitory, wand in hand. There was no one there.

She sighed, muttering a single word before lying down and closing her eyes.

"Harry."

**PLEASE REVIEW!! I promise nothing for those who review, but I would like to hear your feedback.**


	12. Chapter 12: In Dreams 2

**Disclaimer: **All of this belongs to JKR

Just a little side note: Some of the emotions and references are fully explained in my other story, Secrets of the Heart, but here's the short version:

Bellatrix Black was friends with Lucius Malfoy. She fell in love with him, but when he fell in love with and proposed to her younger sister, Narcissa, Bella married Rodolphus Lestrange and joined the Dark Lord, who she also fell in love with. She also has an obsession with wizard-lore and looked to establish a new age, one with her as Queen of the Wizarding World.

So...Hope that clears things up. Please enjoy.

In Dreams II

She knew this was a dream, a wonderful fancy that would pass, eventually. She knew that it wasn't him lying beside her, wasn't him she'd shared her night with, shared her gifts with, married. It wasn't his arms wrapped around her naked waist as she lay in bed, sheets wrapped around her cold and still form, but she could always dream.

She imagined herself in a room, filled with mist and shadow, like a room made of cloud. It was chill, but not uncomfortably so, and she could feel the tiny drops of rain through her thin shift that she work for bed.

He came to her from the mists, his dark robe swirling around him as if he was a creature of cloud and rain himself, a dark thundercloud that would bring change and power the way a storm brought fear and destruction. She couldn't breathe as he walked up to her, his arm cold on her shoulder. She could feel every bone through the thin fabric.

"Bella," he hissed in his snakelike manner as he pulled off his robes, allowing them to fall around his thin, skeleton-like form. There was warmth in his red eyes, a warmth so rarely seen that it looked foreign, yet so kind and loving that it looked as if it had been there forever, as if a Dark Lord had transformed into a kind lover.

He pulled away the material of her thin nightgown until she stood, naked in front of him, her long, curly black hair, no longer wild and untamed, falling to her waist and fluttering in a distant breeze. She reached out to him and in a single motion, was wrapped in his arms.

He kissed her with a passion that was never seen before. He held her so close and with such love that she thought she would melt. It was love like she'd never loved before. He was real, so real, and her heart seemed to pump in his chest as he held her close to him.

"To hell with my husband," she whispered as he kissed her neck, searching for her lips.

"Do you want me to kill him?" he asked her, half mockingly. "For only then can you be mine truly."

"I am yours forever," she answered, returning his kiss with passion. "Forever…."

She sat bolt upright, gasping for breath. Her husband lay beside her, fast asleep. She pushed him away from her, walking to the window, allowing the nighttime wind to rustle through her thick black hair, so unlike that of her sister, so unlike the white blonde of her angelic, more favored sister, the sister that her first love favored over her.

"I swore I would never love again," she told herself. "But I am yours forever, my lord."

"My lord."

**PLEASE REVIEW!!! I REALLY WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS THINK. WHAT YOU LIKE, WHAT YOU DISLIKE, WHAT YOU'D LIKE TO SEE, WAYS TO IMPROVE MY WRITING, ANYTHING IS WELCOME.**


	13. Chapter 13: In Dreams 3

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING!!!!**

In Dreams III

She was dreaming about him again. She didn't want to dream about him, but she still did. She didn't want to think that she had any connection to him……but she did. And, as much as he irritated her, she knew that she wanted that connection. She knew that she wanted his touch, his kiss, the feeling of his soft, raven black hair beneath her fingers. Her dreams told her that much at least.

She imagined herself sitting in the shade of her favorite tree by the lake, reading. The sunlight caught on her hair and in her eyes as she focused on the book in front of her. She smiled as she heard footsteps, looking up, warm and inviting.

He was standing next to her, waiting for her to see him. The sun shone in his hazel eyes, making them appear earthy and soft, like the color the ground turns after it rains when the sun filters through the leaves, that same golden color, like the world itself was blessed and drenched in richness.

He smiled at her, his soft, raven black hair falling messily into his eyes as he smiled, a true smile. He knelt beside her, taking a seat on the hard earth as his hand found hers. She smiled up at him. Even sitting down, he was a good four inches taller than her. This close to him, she could see every muscle of his tanned arms, every line on his powerful face, every inch of his body underneath his skintight keeper's uniform.

He was so solid, so real as she felt herself leaning in towards him, touching his cheek. His lips found hers as he kissed her hungrily, as if they would soon be parted. He molded under her touch and she felt herself clinging to him, holding him close to her while she waited, not wanting to know where this might lead yet, all the time, wanting to find out, wanting to know more, wanting to explore his hidden form.

"I love you, Lily," he whispered. He was real and his voice carried the strength of the trees, the power of the mountains, the grace of the rivers as it flowed to the sea. "I love you. I will always love you, Lily Evans."

"We're just friends," she hear herself protest, but she knew it wasn't true. Why deny it any longer? Why not just tell him?

"I love you too," she whispered to him and his smile broadened.

"I never thought I'd hear you say that," he said, pulling her in. His face was getting closer and closer. He was going to kiss her again. She just knew it. She waited, expecting to feel his touch, knowing that she would be his if he would just kiss her again.

She sat bolt upright, gasping for breath. She was in the commonroom. She'd fallen asleep doing homework again. She walked up to the window, opening it so a slight breeze fluttered in.

"I love you too," she whispered into the wind. "I love you, James Potter. I love you." Tears poured down her cheeks as she said it. "I love you." Her voice carried on the wind, away, far away, across the lake and in the boy's dormitory, a man with raven black hair turned over in his sleep, smiling.

"Lily," he muttered.

"James."

**PLEASE REVIEW!!! I REALLY WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK, WHAT YOU LIKE, WHAT YOU DON'T LIKE, HOW TO MAKE THIS BETTER, ETC.**


	14. Chapter 14: Sisters

**DISCLAIMER: JKR OWNS EVYERHTING. I JUST PLAY WITH HER STUFF**

Sisters

"Bella," Narcissa started. It was the first time in a several years that these two women were alone together, were not involved with their separate duties.

"There's nothing to talk about ,Cissy," Bellatrix growled at her sister. "Nothing. You stole my only love, my one true love. And you stole him from me."

"Bella, I did nothing."

"You know I loved him, Cissy."

"Before you knew what it meant to love him," she mumbled.

"What are you talking about?" Bella demanded violently.

"You don't know what it means to love a Malfoy, Bella."

"I loved him," Bella demanded.

"Before you really knew him," Narcissa said, standing. "I married hom, not know who he really was. He's a man who demands total loyalty, total discipline, a man who cannot stand anyone to be more powerful than him. He would have never given you your kingdom, Bella. He would have kept it for himself and you… you would be his proper little princess, locked up in a tower, far away from everyone."

"That's not true," she growled.

"You know it is, Bella," Narcissa demanded. "You know that he was never worthy of you."

"But he was of you?"

"Yes," she answered, hanging her head. "Yes. he was always worthy of me, of my cowerdice and my silliness. You don't belong in a cage, Bella. I do."

"Cissy......"

**PLEASE REVIEW. I REALLYWANT TO KNOW HOW TO MAKE MY WRITING BETTER.**


	15. Chapter 15: Memories

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of this. JKR does. **

Memories I

The boy's face…….how could he bear to look at the boy's face? How could he stand to be in the same room as that boy? Thos green eyes…..those vivid green eyes.

He only has to blink and he sees her laughing, happy, standing in front of him, the sun dancing off her mahogany red hair. Those green eyes…..he blinks again and he sees her glaring at him, trying to keep tears from her eyes as she breaks off their lifelong friendship. Those green eyes…..he sees them closing as she leans closer to him, so close that he can count every eyelash, her lips meeting his in a kiss they would never share.

Those vivid green eyes…..he sighs. Because when he looks at the boy, bottle green transforms into hazel before his very eyes. That soft, warm color of life and growth and purpose transforms into hard, dry, unyielding stone, stone that glares down at him from a broom, high above him, high above where he can ever be. All he can see is hazel, the harsh hazel of hatred and disgust and bitter, vengeful rivalry. It was the hazel that turned his soft green into biting glass.

He turned her against him. He did it.

When he blinks, he sees her again, wand out, powerful, ready, sending curse after curse after that nasty boy before turning to heal him, her hands soft as she strokes his hair, like an angel of redemption. His angel of redemption. When he blinks again, he's the one being cursed as tears pound down her cheeks. Her wand is out, turned on him, fiery, a passionate angel turning the devil himself away from the gates of heaven. He sees her kissing someone else with a passion, with a hunger and a pain and he sees himself losing her as he knows instinctively who it is.

He never belonged to her. His angel left to heaven, leaving him behind in the flames of hell, where he belonged, leaving him behind to a meaningless existence.

He sees her smiling face as she lives a long, happy life. He feels her hand on his cheek, her red mouth forming his name. She was telling him she loved him. But when he blinked again, the vision was gone. All that was left was the boy, the boy who looked too much like his father.

She died……she died…… she sacrificed her blessed life….for _him_? She died….for _this_? This wasn't her son. This was his son. And she died…..she gave up everything that she could have been, everything they could have had together…...for _this_? For this …. _Boy?_

He blinks again, and she's gone, lost to him forever. He's back in his classroom, the stone walls of the dungeon. A boy is standing in front of him.

The green turns back into hazel as his lips curl into a snarl. Finally…..

He grins, a sickening grin.

"Potter…."

**PLEASE REVIEW!!! I'd love to hear from you. Also, if you have any ideas as to what I can do for future oneshots, please let me know!!**


	16. Chapter 16: Mirrors

**Disclaimer: **JKR owns all of this. If any one wants to give me the royalties for a present, I won't say no. But this is fun too. :-D

Mirrors

He stood before the Mirror of Erised and for a moment all he could see was his face, his white face, eyes like slits, red and cruel. All he could see was his pasty white visage and his snakelike nose, with slits for nostrils. All he could see was the coldness of his smile, the malice hidden in every inch of his face. But the Mirror transformed him.

All of a sudden, he was just a boy, almost sixteen, with thick black hair that fell around his face to give it a dreamy, artistic air, an air that made him seed dependable, trustworthy, honest, all the things he wanted to be, before he knew all that they got you was death and persecution. He was a boy with dark brown eyes and a kind, warm, open smile, so ready to trust, so ready to love, so far away from the man he had become.

There was a man beside him, well dressed, in a tailored suite of black silk, a man with his face, his hair, his nose, his smile, a man with everything except his eyes. The man's arm was around a woman, a thin and pasty woman who looked like she hadn't smiled for a long time, but who was radiant when she did.

She too was dressed in black silk, in a gown that fitted her slim, elegant form. Her only jewelry was an elegant gold locket with an ornate serpentine S embedded in emeralds on its metallic surface. She smiled at him, placing his arm around his shoulder. She had his eyes.

He reached out. He could touch her, feel her soft skin between his fingers. She was here; she was real; she loved him.

"You!" he gasped and she smiled at him.

"I'm so proud of you," she said, her voice smoky, speaking from eons away, so quiet that all he saw were the words forming on her mouth as she spoke. He knew her voice, from a long time ago.

"You're not," he heard himself say. "You're not. You left me."

"I know," she whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks and for a moment, he wanted to protect her, to make sure that she never knew pain or sorrow.

"I love you, my son," she said, finally. "Your father and I love you, and we're so proud of you."

The man opened his mouth, finally, "Tom."

The woman reached out for him again but he stepped away. "Tom," she said, pleading in her voice. "Tom, come back, please. Tom. I love you. It's going to be alright. Just please, come back. Please, baby, please. Tom."

"Get away from me," he hissed, drawing his wand from the folds of his robe. The woman nodded and turned away. The man glared at him before following her through the mists of the mirror.

He gasped as they disappeared. He realized what he'd done, who they were. "Wait," he called after them, but they were gone. "Wait, please." For the first time in his life, Lord Voldemort was crying.

"Mum……"

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	17. Chapter 17: Memories 2

**Disclaimer: **I own none of this. I really wish i did though. Just think of the money..........

Memories II

He knew he had to find a name, the perfect name, the name his second son would be known by for the rest of his life. He had to find a name, a name which would tell the world everything he wanted for his son, everything he cared about.

He opened his cabinet, a chest he hadn't touched in years. He opened the lock slowly, shuffling through small alabaster jars, comforted by their slight clinking as he looked, reading labels in the long slanted hand of his old headmaster. This was his inheritance, a collection of memories brought together by Albus Dumbledore about everything from Voldemort to his parents.

He pulled out a small glass vial he hadn't opened in years, pouring it slowly into a marble basin filled with a sheer liquid. He looked inside, daring to examine its contents. He felt himself being pulled into a room, a long chamber inside Hogwarts with a large mirror set in gold. He recognized the mirror and the inscription written at the top.

_Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi._

A young man was standing in front of the mirror and, even though it was a long time ago, he still recognized the man, his old potion's master, Severus Snape.

He saw tears in the man's eyes as he looked inside the mirror. He saw what the Potion's master saw. He saw his old enemy's greatest desire as he peered into the heart of the brilliant glass. For a moment he saw nothing. Then, a picture began to take shape, faint at first but growing stronger.

He saw a young woman at her wedding, her mahogany red hair pulled into a bun as she closed her green eyes, waiting for a man's kiss. But it wasn't the potions master who was her groom, but a man with messy black hair and hazel eyes that were serious for the first time in his life.

He saw the same woman holding a baby boy to her chest, smiling as her baby opened his eyes and smiled at her. The baby had her eyes. He saw her holding a young boy's hands as he took his first tentative steps in a warm, sunny, open house, a house which matched her warm smile.

She wept as her son departed on a train, far away from home for the first time, leaning hold her husband tight, leaning to kiss her son gently on the cheek, smiling with pride as her little boy approached the alter where, holding on to her husband as he kissed his new wife, feeling pride prickle in her when she held her first grandson close to her, a little boy who looked just like his father, who looked just like his father. He saw her an old woman, still laughing, still bright, finally taking her rest in the ground beside her husband.

In the mirror, he saw what his potions master saw. He saw the life his mother should have led. He saw the life his mother would have had with his father. He saw himself being raised by his parents, growing into a healthy, powerful man. His potions master's greatest desire was for his mother to live, even without him.

As he withdrew from the pensieve, he knew. He knew his son's name.

"Severus…."

**PLEASE REVIEW!!!! And I'm off now, so I'll update more often (hopefully)**


	18. Chapter 18: Ghosts

**Disclaimer: **JKR owns everything. I just play with it.

Ghosts

He'd lied to Dumbeldore. He knew where he dropped the Resurrection stone. He knew that part of the forest and he knew how to get there. He'd dragged Ginny along as he snuck onto the grounds of Hogwarts, hidden in his invisibility cloak. He'd searched the forest floor until he found it, a small black stone, covered in cracks, with the faintest trace of an ancient crest.

"Ginny!" He called, looking around the bright forest, the light streaming in, turning the dark earth a rich, warm brown color, the same color as her eyes.

"Coming," he heard her call as she ran around a tree, appearing like a vision in the late morning sun. "Did you get it?"

He nodded, turning the stone over three times in his hands. He closed his eyes, clearing his mind, think of them, only of them. He saw his mother's face, soft and delicate, with almond shaped, emerald green eyes, just like his. He saw his father's smile, set on a face that was exactly like his, hazel eyes warm and soft. He thought of his godfather and his friend, their pride and humility and humo

He heard Ginny gasp and, when he opened his eyes, he saw them, the Marauders, standing in front of him.

"Harry," his mother said, her face hauntingly pale as she reached out to touch his cheek. "Harry. You did it, you saved us. I'm so proud of you, my son." There were tears in her green eyes as she looked at him, pulling him into a ghostly hug. He clung to his mother for a moment before turning to the three men that stood beside her.

Two he knew from this lifetime, his godfather and friend. The third….the third looked exactly like him. They smiled as he pulled Ginny forward, wrapping his arms around her.

"Sirius," Ginny gasped. "Remus….you're…..you're not here."

"Hullo Ginny," Remus smiled. "Good to see you again."

"Ginny!!" Sirius laughed as he pulled her into a bear hug. "You're here!"

After what seemed like hours of tears, hugging, and laughter, Harry pulled Ginny to him, his hand steady as he lifted up her left hand. A gold and emerald band glistened on her third finger.

"Mum, dad," He whispered. "I…..I know you belong in the afterlife, that it's a bad idea to bring you back but…….I had to ask for your blessing, for all of your blessings."

"Harry?" His mother asked questioningly.

"Ginny and I are getting married, Mum," He said. "And I wanted you to meet her, just once, before…..before you move on forever."

She smiled. "You have our blessing," she whispered. "She's a wonderful girl and I wish you every happiness. I love you, Harry. Let us go, Harry. Your life is here now."

Harry realized that there were tears in his eyes as he dropped the stone, letting his parents, godfather, and mentor vanish, returning to their life of eternal peace. Ginny wrapped her arms around him.

"They're always with you," she whispered.

"I know," he said before dropping to his knees and buried the stone deep underneath the earth of the Forest. "I know." The last thing he heard before pulling Ginny away under the invisibility cloak was a soft whisper, lost in the wind.

"I love you, my boy."

"My boy……"

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	19. Chapter 19:Remembrance

**Disclaimer: **JKR owns all of this.

Remembrance

"Why?" Severus Snape demanded as he stormed into the headmaster's office.

"Why what, Severus?" Dumbledore answered lightly as the angry potions master paced in front of his desk.

"Well, I saw the damn mirror, just like you wanted me to," Snape began.

"Ahhh," The Headmaster answered. "Then won't you sit down. Would you care for a lemon drop? They really are quite tasty."

"No I do not want a lemon drop! I want to know why I saw what I saw." Snape cried as his boss chose a small muggle candy and popped it into his smiling mouth.

"Now, Severus," Dumbledore said when he'd finished chewing. "What did you see?"

"I saw her," he whispered as he sat down, unconsciously reaching for a small yellow lemon drop from the bowl on Dumbledore's desk. "I saw her……I saw the life she should have led……I saw……I saw her. She was happy; she was smiling. She was alive and happy and full and…..just like she was when she was still here, like the sun."

"And…." Dumbledore prompted.

"And she was with…._him_. She was with…..with Potter. She loved Potter. She was kissing him. She was……she had his baby. I saw her teaching Potter's son to walk and then kissing him goodbye and crying at his wedding and…….and I saw her lying in the ground, an old woman, beside…..beside _him._ She died with Potter."

Severus was weeping. "She loved him. I thought I'd see her with me. I thought I'd see her telling me she loved me. I thought……I thought she would."

Dumbledore waited till he'd composed himself before taking a deep breath, looking at the man in front of him over his half moon spectacles.

"No one can know what the mirror will show them," he said gravely. "You saw what you did because you knew she loved him. You knew that they belonged together, that you and she could never be together. But what you saw was greater than any other. It proves your love for a single person."

"She was my angel," Snape gasped.

"And you let her go. You let her go because you loved her, because you knew that he was in her destiny. Because you knew that she belonged to him. And you saw her anyway. You loved her, and so you saw her happy. You saw her living the life she should have lived, a life in a world without terror or hatred. You saw her dream and you wanted for her the life she deserved."

"I loved her," Snape whispered. "I loved her. And I killed her. I loved her."

"Then help me save her son. For her. Help me protect him for her."

"For her……."

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	20. Chapter 20: Lilies

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. JKR owns it all**

Lilies

It was her sixth year, Christmas. She ran downstairs with her friends, Alice and Emmaline to open her presents, anxiously ripping through the boxes until she found hers in the stack. She laughed with them, ripping open her gifts, smiling as she tried on the fancy scarf that Alice gave her and flipped through the book from Emmaline. She was so filled with joy.

It wasn't until late that night, when they were drunk with their own happiness, that she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see James, his hair messily tousled around his strong face. He smiled slightly at her, holding out a small blue box in his hand. He held it out to her before smiling ruefully at her.

"Happy Christmas, Lily," he muttered.

"Happy Christmas, James," she replied, laughing at his awkwardness.

"This…..this is for you," he whispered, holding the box out to her. She took it hesitantly, opening it slowly, gasping. Inside was a beautiful silver chain with a brilliant white lily pendant. A single diamond crowned the center and the white flower was centered on a brilliant green leaf and silver stem.

"For me?" she gasped.

"Yes…." He started. "I'm sorry. I thought……I hoped…."

"Oh James," she sighed, tossing her arms around him and holding him close to her. "It's beautiful." She lifted her mahogany hair off her neck before unclasping the chain. "Can you help me?" she asked as he grasped the chain. His fingers brushed her neck as he clasped the necklace, making her hair stand on end. Electricity jumped between them as he clasped the necklace onto her white neck.

"Thank you, James."

It was her graduation. She stood beside James, his hand in hers as he smiled at her. She reached up to him, kissing him slowly and sweetly on the lips. A brilliant ring glittered on her third finger. He'd asked her to marry him the day before. Her only other piece of jewelry was a white lily pendent on a silver chain, the same lily that James had given her

"I love you, James," she whispered. "More than anyone else."

He smiled into her hand as she touched his cheek. "I love you too, Lily," he whispered. "I always have. I always will."

It was their wedding day. She was dressed all in white, a strapless white gown that fitted her perfectly and spread like a river of silk around her. As she approached the alter where James stood, all she could see was his hazel eyes. The only piece of jewelry she wore was a white lily pendent given to her by her husband four years before.

She faced Voldemort, hair flowing around her face, eyes blazing, protecting her son. He sent a single curse toward her and she fell, her brilliant mahogany hair spreading like a setting sun around her too pale face and her black sweater. Her baby sat beside her, staring up at the intruder, her murderer, her destroyer as he turned his wand on her only son. In a blinding flash, the intruder disappeared and young Harry Potter crawled over to his dead mother. As he was being taken away by a strange man, his hand grasped the only piece of jewelry he'd ever seen her wear, holding it in his hand until he fell into a deep slumber, a silver chain with a white lily pendant.

Ginevra Weasley walked up to the alter, dressed all in white. The only piece of jewelry she wore was the necklace her husband had given her when he proposed, a silver chain with a white lily pendent, a chain that had belonged to her mother-in-law, long dead.

Lily Potter Malfoy wore that same pendent on her wedding day, and every day after before passing it on to her daughter. It was given to her on her sixteenth birthday by her mother.

One hundred years later, Emily Marie Weasley wore Lily Potter's silver chain on her wedding day, a chain that had been passed from generation to generation for one hundred years until it was finally hers. She smiled, fingering it lightly as she approached the alter.

And so, her legacy lives on, in the whispered words of the one she loved.

"Lily…."

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	21. Chapter 21: Hazel Eyes

**Disclaimer: **All of this belongs to JKR. I just play around with it, add my own personal flair. It's fun.

Enjoy!!!!!

Hazel Eyes

He had his father's eyes. Everyone told him that. Ever since the day he was born, he had been told that he had his father's eyes, bright hazel with a twist of pale green. He had his father's eyes. When he went to school, that was the first thing people noticed about him. His father was well known, the head of the Auror office and a prominent pure blood. On his first day in school, the most powerful boy in the school, young Lucius Malfoy, had approached him, holding out his hand to him.

"James Potter," Lucius Malfoy had said. "I don't believe we've been introduced. I'm Lucius Malfoy, son of Abraxas Malfoy."

"How do you do," He had replied somewhat uncomfortably.

"You have your father's eyes, Mr. Potter," Lucius told him, pompous and commanding.

"Yes," James replied. "I've been told." He tried to move away but Lucius blocked him.

"You'll be powerful one day, Mr. Potter," Lucius had said. "Just make sure you haven't inherited more than your father's eyes. Let's hope you haven't inherited his stubbornness." James pushed past Lucius Malfoy and sat in a compartment with only one other boy in it, a boy with messy brown hair and shabby, tattered robes who smiled warmly at him as he approached.

It was his fifth year, and just before she stormed away, Lily Evans' eyes met his. Her sparkling green eyes were laced with pain. He knew that his hazel eyes had hardened with shock and anger. He couldn't believe that Snape would call her that. He couldn't believe that he could hurt her like that.

"Lily," he started, trying to tell her how he truly felt, trying to tell her that he was sorry, that he had never meant for this to happen. "Lily, I…..I'm…."

"Save it," she whispered, fighting to keep tears from her green eyes. For a moment, when she saw his hazel eyes, soft and hard at the same time, she wanted to do nothing but wrap her arms around him and sob into his chest. She turned and ran, leaving him standing in the dust.

It was his wedding day, and he couldn't imagine a day when he was happier. When he looked at Lily, he knew that he had never seen anyone more powerful and beautiful than her. When she looked at him, all she saw was his hazel eyes. All she saw was the eyes that she knew would protect her forever, the eyes that would die before they let anything happen to her. All she saw were those hazel eyes, with only a twist of green, that she would love until the day she died.

When he saw Harry for the first time, when he held his son in his arms for the first time, all he could think of was that the legacy was broken. For a moment, he was disappointed. The legacy was broken. Potter men always had hazel eyes. But when his son opened his eyes and smiled at him, he couldn't breathe. He'd never loved anyone more than he loved this little life. From then on, he didn't care. Potter men may have hazel eyes, but he had her eyes, her blown glass eyes, and he couldn't be happier.

He face Voldemort, knowing that he was going to die, knowing that he might not be the only death but hoping that he would be. He faced Voldemort, knowing that anything he did would slow him down, maybe long enough for Lily and Harry to get away. He smiled, sauntering over to where the intruder was standing, his teenage swagger back.

"Yo, Voldy," he laughed. "What's up?" Behind him, he heard doors slam as Lily ran to their son and he hoped that his hazel eyes didn't reveal his fear, didn't reveal his hatred, didn't reveal his pure and complete terror. The wand raised, pointing at his chest. And James Potter closed his hazel eyes for the last time.

Ginevra Potter sat up in bed, holding her newborn, infant son for the first time as she smiled at her husband. He stood beside her, his hair wet with sweat and nervousness as he laid a single hand on his baby's innocent head. His son opened his eyes, looking right at his father with solemn, laughing hazel eyes, his grandfather eyes.

"I think there's only one thing we can call him," Harry whispered to his wife as she smiled up at him, nodding.

"He's your son. You tell him his name," she answered, handing her first child to her husband. He cradled the baby in his arms, leaning down to whisper in his son's ear.

"Welcome, James Potter."

**PLEASE REVIEW!!!! I REALLY WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK, WHETHER OR NOT YOU LIKE IT, ANYTHING!! I ALSO WOULD LOVE IDEAS ON WHAT TO DO.**


	22. Chapter 22: Meetings

**Disclaimer: **JKR owns everything. If anyone would like to donate the royalties to a worthy cause (AKA: me), I would love to accept them. (It's for a good cause, I swear)

Note: if you care to hear the whole story, check out my other story, Secrets of the Heart. Here's the short version, anyway.

After the Second War, Draco Malfoy ran away after his trial. Harry saved him from Azkaban. Draco went to Paris, where he met Astoria, who was a year younger than him in Ravenclaw. He had saved her (She was muggleborn), refusing to torture her and helping her escape. She ran away and he met her in Paris. She went back to Hogwarts for her seventh year, after which he proposed and they got married and had Scorpious.

That's probably not JKR's version, but it works. And hey, that's the beauty of FanFiction.

Enjoy!!!!

Meetings

He was in Paris…..Paris! Imagine that, a Malfoy in Paris. He was the first Malfoy to leave England. He was the first Malfoy to visit anywhere outside the Emerald Isles. The Malfoy's were old English nobility who prided themselves on their loyalty to their nation. Malfoy's never left Britain if they could help it. Yet……here he was. He was here, in Paris, the most beautiful city he'd ever seen.

He knew that it was breaking tradition, but he had to get away. He couldn't stay. He couldn't bear to stay as they began to rebuild after the war. He couldn't bear to see the silent accusation hidden behind their eyes as they looked at him. He knew that, no matter what he did, those accusations would always be there, if for no other reason than he was a Malfoy.

He knew he didn't deserve to survive the war. He knew that he didn't deserve to live. He wasn't supposed to survive. He wasn't meant to live. He wasn't meant to even make it past his sixth year. His master, the man he'd sworn his life to, had set him up to be murdered. He'd taken his father's place when he was still a boy and he was meant to die because of that.

But here, in Paris, he could just get away. He could escape from everything. He could be, living in a city where no one knew of his small part in the battle, where no one asked him to pull back the sleeve of his robe so they could see his dark mar, a sin forever etched into his skin and into his soul.

He dressed all in black in Paris. He couldn't wear anything else and his skintight black suits underneath his black robes allowed him to fit in with Paris's artistic youth. He loved Paris. He loved the beauty of this city and even though his mother begged him to come home in almost every letter, he knew he couldn't let go of the freedom he found here, the freedom of anonymity, the freedom of never being recognized, the freedom of a pure city, passed over by the horrors of war, a city without scars.

He walked into a café one afternoon. It was still summer and the light was still fresh and beautiful as it reflected through the windows of the building he had entered. He ordered some fresh, Parisian coffee and a croissant before sitting at a table by the window. His eyes wandered as he remembered the eyes of the minister.

"The accused," Shacklebolt had said. "Draco Lucius Malfoy, deatheater."

He hung his head, feeling shame and grief well up inside him. His father was up next and he knew that he was going to jail. He was doing the one thing he promised his mother he would never do. He was abandoning her. He stepped up onto the pedestal and, as he opened his eyes, he saw bright green. Harry Potter was standing in front of him.

"I'm not doing this for you," he'd said. "Your mother saved my life. I'm indebted to her. And you're Tonk's cousin. I owe her too."

Harry Potter had defended him, saying that he did what he did to protect his mother, to protect his family. He'd done everything because he was afraid, that he was still innocent, that Dumbledore had intended to die at the hands of Severus Snape. And he'd been let go. And he was forever in Harry Potter's debt.

A melodic voice shook him out of his thoughts. "May I join you?" He looked up to see a beautiful woman standing beside him, a tray in her hand. He recognized the woman, her golden brown hair glowing in the sunlight. Her eyes smiled at him and he knew she recognized him too.

They were in detention, the year before. She had been taken in as a muggleborn. The moment he saw her face, he knew that he couldn't hurt her. He could never do anything to destroy her. He winked at her, smiling and he knew that she knew he couldn't do it either. He couldn't hurt her. He helped her escape, knowing that she was marked for death. He'd saved her, because he couldn't save so many others. He saved her, because for the first time, he had a chance of redemption.

"Yeah," he commented, moving his tray so that she could sit across from him. "Yeah. Please, make yourself comfortable."

"Thanks," she smiled at him. She looked at him for a moment, "Do you remember me? Or have you saved so many that you don't remember anyone?"

"I remember," he mumbled. "How are you Astoria?"

She laughed. "I'm fantastic, Draco." She reached across the table, holding his hand in hers. "Thanks to you. You saved my life."

"It was nothing," he mumbled. "It was nothing."

"No," she corrected. "it was a fantastic thing. You saved my life. And maybe that was nothing to you but you saved my life." She stood up, slowly leaning in and kissing him on the lips, softly. "Thank you," she said.

"Thank you….."

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**:-D**


	23. Chapter 23: Lines

**Disclaimer: **All of this belongs to JKR. I would love to own it, but unfortunately, I don't.

Anyway......Just a quick note on two of the stories in this oneshot.

One you know, the Story of the Chamber of Secrets.

One of the others, when James saved Lily's life, happened in their seventh year. Lily's parents had been murdered. When she found out, Lily ran, feeling guitly because they had been murdered by Death Eaters, who she had refused to join. It was the middle of December and she was nearly frozen by the time she had reached the lake. She stayed out, frozen when James began looking for her. He found her, took care of her, and quite literally saved her life. For full details, see my other story Secrets of the Heart.

The last one is when Scorpious Malfoy saved Lily Potter's life. That story is pretty much what you see here. Lily was attaked by the sons of former Death Eaters just to hurt her father. She was outnumbered and Scorpious saved her life. Scorpious and Albus Severus Potter were best friends, so Lily knew him very well. They were both in Gryffindor. After Scorp saved Lily, he asked her out. They'd both been eyeing each other for years but that was the catalyst for their relationship, just like with Lily's grandparents.

Anyway, Enjoy!!!!!

Lines

He leaned into her, smiling a reckless smile. For a moment, she was giddy that he, the most popular, the most handsome, the most sought after bachelor in the school was telling her that she was beautiful. For a moment, she couldn't breath. She couldn't think; she couldn't see anything but his stunning hazel eyes, less than six inches above her face. She grinned back at him, laughing carelessly, tossing her mahogany red hair over her shoulders.

"Hello, James," she said, softly, whispering into his close face. "What do you want?" James smiled at her, his eyes sparkling with delight.

"I saved your life, Evans," he whispered back. "You owe me."

"I know," she grinned back. She remembered that night vividly, the night her parents died. She'd run, out into the cold tundra of the castle ground. He'd saved her life, brought her home, and comforted her and she knew that he would have done it without thinking, without a second thought to his own life, because he loved her. She knew he would have saved her even if she never repaid him. And she knew that that was all she needed to prove to her that she loved him.

She leaned in, closing the distance. Her lips met his and he sighed, stepping into her open arms, welcoming her into him. She pulled away, her arms wrapped around his waist. "How's that for payback?" She asked him, a glitter in her brilliant green eyes.

James laughed. "I can live with that."

She smiled at him, his raven black hair falling into his bright bottle green eyes as he leaned in towards her. He was in heaven. This was the moment she'd dreamed of. She was giddy, knowing that Harry Potter, the Harry Potter, was in love with her. She laughed recklessly, tossing her red hair over her shoulder as she smiled up at him.

"Hello Harry," she said, softly, whispering into his close face. "What do you want?" Harry smiled at her, his green eyes sparkling with delight.

"I saved your life, Weasley," He whispered back. "You owe me."

"I know," she grinned back. She remembered that night vividly, the night she was taken into the Chamber. Riddle had taken her, body and soul, leaving her to die in the middle of a destitute chamber, a serpent slowly sucking the life out of Hogwarts. He saved her life, and she knew he would have done it without thinking, without a second thought to his own life, because she was his best friend's sister, because he couldn't imagine Ron without her. She knew that he would have saved her even if she never repaid him. And she knew that that was all she needed to prove to her that she loved him.

She leaned in, closing the distance between them. Her lips met his and he sighed, stepping into her open arms, welcoming him into her. She pulled away, her arms wrapping around his waist. "How's that for payback?" She asked him, a glitter in her soft brown eyes.

Harry laughed, a deep laugh that she loved. "I can live with that."

She smiled at him, his pale blonde hair falling into his grey eyes. He may have looked like his father, but Scorpious Malfoy was not Draco. He could never be Draco. This was the moment she'd dreamed of. She was giddy, knowing that neither of their parents would ever approve. He was a Malfoy, she was a Potter. She laughed, tossing her beautiful golden red hair over her shoulder as she smiled up at him, softly.

"Hello Scorp," she said softly, whispering into his close face. "What do you want?" He smiled at her, his grey eyes glittering.

"I saved your life Potter," he whispered back. "You owe me."

"I know," she grinned back. She remembered that night vividly. Three men had surrounded her, begging her to amuse them for their own gain. She'd fought them off but had been outnumbered. They were stronger than her and she'd screamed out. Scorpious had come to her rescue, sending off those men, saving her, helping her to the hospital wing, coming with her to speak to Professor McGonagall, staying with her to protect her. She knew he would have done it without thinking, without a second thought to his own life, because he was her brother's friend, and he loved her. She knew that he would have saved her no matter what. And he reminded her more and more of her own father.

She leaned in, closing the distance between them. Her lips met his and he sighed, stepping into her open arms, welcoming her into her. She pulled away, her arms wrapping around his waist. "How's that for payback?" She asked him, a glitter in her soft brown eyes, her mother's eyes.

Scorpious Malfoy laughed, the same laugh that she adored. "I can live with that."

**PLEASE REVIEW!!! I really want to hear from everyone.**


	24. Chapter 24: Vows I

**Disclaimer: All of this belongs to JKR. **

Just a note: I appoligize if this annoys anyone. We've been reading The Sound and the Fury in our English class and I got the idea from there.

Hope you enjoy. :-D

Vows

He smiled at his bride, slowly raising the feathery white veil that hid her face. For a moment, he was struck by how green her eyes were, how beautiful he looked, standing before him, dressed in pure white, her long mahogany hair curling around her pale face under the silvery white lace veil, his grandmother's veil, his mother's veil, now hers.

He felt her hand find its way into his as slowly, her cool hand grasped his. She was trembling a little, making the silver lily pendant around her neck tremble against the hollow of her throat.

"I," he began. "James Andrew Potter….."

_Hi. He stuck his arm out to her. I'm James, James Potter. Who are you?_

_Lily Evans. She took his hand in hers, shaking it firmly._

_Would you like to sit with us? He pointed the compartment already filled with his three friends._

_No thank you, she said coolly. She pointed to another compartment. I'm sitting there._

_His first rejection._

"Take thee, Lilly Andrea Evans….."

_Hello Lily! He boomed out._

_Go away, Potter! She screamed back. I will not go out with you!!_

_Oh, Evans, you break my heart! Please!_

_No! Not now, not ever! She stormed away. _

_Oooooh! Tough luck mate._

"To be my lawful wedded wife….."

_Lily…..Lily……I'm…I_

_Don't…..don't say I told you so. Please, don't tell me that. You knew he was like this, didn't you. I…..I guess…..I guess a small part of me knew too._

_Lily…..I would never do that. I just…..I'm here because I wanted to make sure you're alright._

_She threw her arms around him. Oh, James._

"To love and to cherish……"

_All he could see were her eyes as he leaned in to kiss her. She was everything to him as slowly, she pulled him down to kiss him. _

_I'm sorry, James. I'm sorry I ever treated you badly._

_It's alright. He grinned at her. _

_I love you James._

"In sickness….."

_My parents, she whispered, frozen with cold. It was the worst December blizzard in 30 years. It's all my fault. Oh, James. It's all my fault._

_No, Lily. It's not. You were right. You did what you thought was right and they just couldn't stand that. It's not your fault._

_They murdered them._

_And their death will not be in vein._

_I'm alone, now. I have……have…..no one. Petunia….. She started to weep again, harder. _

_You have me. I…..I love you Lily._

_What? Her tears clung and froze to her eyelashes, framing her green eyes in diamonds._

_I love you._

"And in health….."

_She was solid, real, in his arms, smiling as he kissed the hollow of her throat, her head tipped back. There was nothing more beautiful in this world. He could feel every inch of her soft skin against his as they kissed. His Lily, at last._

"For richer or poorer…."

_You live here! She laughed as she saw Potter Mansion for the first time. He smiled at her joy. It had been so long since she'd smiled that the sight of her happy warmed her heart. Happy Christmas, Lily._

"Till death do we part…….."

_Petunia stood in front of him, blocking off his path to her sister as they prepared to leave. She hadn't yet changed out of her cream silk wedding gown as she stopped him._

_You're leaving. He nodded._

_I heard what happened last night._

_I know._

_Just…….just promise me that she'll be safe. I know I hate her, that I've been vile…..but she's my sister. And….and I love her. Just promise me you'll protect her._

_I swear, no harm will come to Lily while there's breath in my body. I give you my word._

"With this ring……."

_Lily. He held the ring out to her. You told me that you loved me._

_She laughed. Yes, I told you that. I didn't know what you'd make of it though._

_He held out a beautiful gold and emerald ring to her. Will you…….do you remember when I proposed to you in our fifth year and you laughed in my face?_

_She nodded. Yes, I remember._

_My mother gave this. He held the ring out to her. I've had it since then. It was hers. I can't think of anyone I'd rather wear it. I want you to have it. I….Lily, I meant what I said then, and I mean it now. I love you, Lily. And I want you be my wife. I don't want to live the rest of my life with anyone else._

_Oh, James…._

"I…."

_It was her musical voice, whispered on the wind, saying his name. "James." _

"Thee……"

_It was her face he saw. He knew he wanted to die with her hand in his. He wanted to die with her name on his lips. "Lily."_

"Wed." He slipped the ring onto her finger, kissing her deeply.

"Husband and Wife."

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	25. Chapter 25:Yet another Author's Note

Authors Note:

Hey guys!!! Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Life has caught up with me. I swear, as soon as finals are over, I'll start writing again.

Thanks for reading


	26. Chapter 26: Vows II

**Disclaimer: JKR owns all of this.**

Call me a hopeless romantic but I just had to do one for Lily like I did for James.

Vows II

When she walked up to him, all she could see was his hazel eyes on her. She could feel the cool silver of her lily pendant at the hollow of her throat. She gulped but the moment she saw his grin, all her doubts, all her fears, vanished. She loved him and she knew it. She waited until he had finished before smiling, raising her voice and saying…….

"I, Lily Andrea Evans……"

_Lily! How are you? He cried. It was their third year and, for the first time, a light blush touched her cheeks when she heard his voice. She turned away, trying to hide her face from him, trying to keep anyone from seeing the way her eyes sparked when she heard him say her name, in a voice that broke every once in a while._

"Take thee, James Andrew Potter……"

_James, she pushed her hair out of her eyes as she spun to face him. How dare you, Potter? How dare you touch my friend and then have the audacity to ask me out._

_It was funny, Evans. Have a sense of humor. _

_It was horrible, what you did to him, Potter. Leave him alone!_

_It was funny how much she hated him and how much he loved her._

"To be my lawful wedded husband……."

_He knew her, better than anyone one else, better than she even knew herself. He always knew when something was wrong or when she needed him. He was hers, because he could read her mind and her heart. Apart from her parents, no one knew her like he did. He loved her. He loved her more than he loved life. And she……._

"To love and to cherish……"

_She would never admit it, but she loved the way he said her name. She loved hearing him say her name when he turned to greet her, always with a smile. _

_Hello, Lily._

_Hello James. She answered, determined to stay cool, calm, despite the trill that went through her, despite the blush that was rising into her cheeks._

_He reached for her hand and kissed it. You are alone, my lady. He was as gallant as a knight from the muggle fairy tales that she loved so much._

_Yes. She answered, giggling. _

_All the better. There's no one good enough for you here._

"In sickness……."

_James…..James what happened? James….._

_His face was like ash, like death, cold as ice. Lily….he reached for her hand. Lily……they killed……they killed my parents._

_She wrapped her arms around him. James. James ,I'm so sorry. What happened?_

_They murdered my mum and dad…….they……they……_

"And in health……."

_What do you want Remus?_

_I came…….he took a breath, looking more worn that she'd ever seen him. Lily, please, give James a chance. _

_Remus! Not you too!_

_Please Lily, just get to know him. He's a good guy. I know you'd like him if you just got to know his other side, if you just go to see who he really is._

_I know what he's like, Remus._

_Then see him when he's not around you. He's so desperate to impress you that he acts like an idiot. But he's a good guy. _

_Remus…..How……_

_Please, Lily. Just give him a chance. I think he honestly loves you. I think that he cares more about you than maybe anyone else. Please, Lily, just give him a chance._

_I……._

_Please Lily. Think about it……_

"For rich or poor……"

_I have nowhere to go, James. The house is destroyed. And Poetunia…….she won't even let me talk to her, much less live with her._

_No other family?_

_No. Well, I do….but they are all like Petunia. They think that…….that I'm a freak._

_You still have me._

_James……_

_You're coming home with me. You have me, Lily. And I will never let you go._

_James…….._

"Till death do we part."

_I swear, Lily. Nothing will happen to you while I am still alive._

_She smiled at him. James, I can take care of myself._

_I love you, Lily. And nothing will ever happen to you while I'm here._

_She brushed hair away from his face and leaned close to him. Slowly her lips met his. I love you too, James. And we......we will be together always. _

_"Lily…."_

"James….."

"You may kiss the bride."

**PLEASE REVIEW!! I would love to hear from you. **

**I'll update as soon as possilbe. I swear. But with school going the way it is, I haven't been doing much wriging except for my English class. **

**But either way, please review.**

**I really want to know what you think about everything.**


	27. Chapter 27: Thoughts

**Disclaimer: JKR owns everything. **

Thanks for the Review everyone.

Quick intro to this story. This takes place during Ginny's sixth year, around the same time that Harry, Ron and Hermoine are in the woods (you know, the same place from which Ron storms away) and she's dozing off, doing what I do sometimes. She's not aware that she's writing, but she is.

Hope you enjoy!

Thoughts

She was supposed to be working on an essay for Professor Snape on why exactly she was wrong to release the prisoners held for torture, on why exactly they were there in the first place, and what her punishment should be. That's what she was supposed to be doing, but sleep had overcome her. As she stared out the window across the forest, her pen slowly glided over the page in front of her.

_I was in a room, walls closing in around me….I saw him, his eyes bright, intent with a purpose. Why is it that every time I stop thinking about him, that I convince myself he's just a friend, something happens that reminds me why I love him, he smiles in just the right way…..Why is it that he returns every time I think I'm used to him being gone? And he leaves the moment I'm used to him being here?_

_He was smiling at me, his eyes shining as he laughed at something I had said, his hand closing around mine as he pulled me in after him, telling me to look, forcing me, daring me. He was serious, and his eyes studied me as I talked. I trusted him, more than I trusted anyone. I trusted him to make it right. And that is a terrible trust to break, but even worse to doubt._

_Why don't I trust him that way anymore? Is it because he's gone? Is it because he could be dead in the morning? Why don't I think of him the way I used to? Why do I remember him as one remembers a dead man? Why did I ever cave to that little monster in my head? Why did I cave to doubt, to suspicion, and to fear? Why am I still waiting for his voice? For the sound of his laugh? For the warmth of his smile? Why did I let him go? Will I ever love again?_

_They say that I'm cold, that my heart is locked away, frozen in my chest, unable to love. They say that I am all head, that I think too much, analyze too much, that I don't dream, don't feel, don't understand love or passion. I'm too cold to understand, too logical to feel, too focused to pause for even a moment and smell the roses and smile at their fragile beauty. They don't know me. If you wear your heart on your sleeve, it gets bruised and injured. If you leave it open, it's more likely to get hurt. I've been hurt too much. I've felt pain too often. They say you can't lock your heart in a box. But in a box, your heart doesn't get broken. It doesn't get injured or bruised or filled with pain and passion and emotion. They tell me to unlock it. But I can't. It's been hidden for too long. I am too cold._

_But he unlocked it. Just one smile, that's all it took, just one smile, one little twinkle in his eye. I gave it to him, the moment he asked my name. I gave it to him when he laughed and I trusted him to keep it safe. I trusted him, if only he was real. I trusted him and he told me he loved me. He promised me._

_You promised me, Harry. You swore to me you'd come. You gave me your word, all those night you held me close as I poured my heart out to you. You unlocked it. You made me real again. And you promised me that you'd come, and that we'd really be together, that you loved me. Well? Where are you? Will you keep your word? Do you even remember your word? Do you even listen for me anymore? Don't you know that I still wait?_

_I……I…..I love you._

A noise awoke her and she glanced at what she'd written. This was her, her emotion, her thoughts, her passion, her heart written on a scrap of parchment. She shook her head, shifting the mantel of fiery hair away from her neck to allow in a cool breeze.

Footsteps. She crumpled up the page and thrust it into the fire, watching as it smoldered into ash, burning her last piece of humanity, her last connection to her heart, her only release in the darkest of times. She loved him. But the world would never see that love.

She stood, walking to the window, not knowing that, at that very moment, miles away, he was watching her, move, sighed over her every motion, trying to tell her that he was thinking of her, his heart born on a scrap of parchment, passed from father to son.

Her last word…….the only word she'd dared to say carried on the breeze until, miles away, he though, just barely, he could hear her voice.

"Harry………"

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	28. Chapter 28: Hunger

**Disclaimer: All of this belongs to JKR**

Enjoy

Hunger

That one word…….that one single word haunted her life. It was the glint she saw in her family's eyes, the coldness of a dear sister's forgotten smile. She had loved him, until she saw the glint in his eyes as well. That single glint…….

Hunger.

The moment she saw it……the first time she saw it, she was still young. She saw it in her parents' eyes when they studied her, her mother's eyes, narrow, hungry, greedy.

"She's pretty enough, and sweet. When the time comes….." it was her mother's words…..her mother's gentle words as she raised her youngest daughter's face to study her gray eyes, still soft, still innocent when she saw the greed in her mother's eye.

"You will marry high," She whispered in her ear. "When you enter the room, I can see it now, I can hear it, Cissy. I can see what they will call you. Narcissa the beautiful. Narcissa the fair. Our Cissy."

Those words entered her eyes. Those words haunted her, giving her a hint of it into her gray eyes. She wanted it, all of it. She wanted the diamond drops and the rich silks. She wanted the scream of the pure blood witches and wizards as she entered the room during a ball, dressed entirely in white silk, a man holding out his arm to her. She felt hunger haunt her eyes as she smiled. She was here, Narcissa the Fair.

But it wasn't just her. She saw it in her sister's eyes. She saw it every time Andy heard her name, the hardness she saw when Andy kissed her good bye and unwrapped her arms from around her waist. "I want more," Andy had said to her. "I want than this, Cissy. I 'm tired of being the daughter who wasn't meant to live. I'm tired of being a burden. I want more than what they can give me, Cissy. I'm better than that. And you are too."

She saw it in Bella's eyes, saw it so often that soon, all she saw was that glint in her sister's dark, almost black eyes. All she saw was her sister's cruelty, greed, desire. All she saw was the evil that haunted Bella's soul. All she saw was viciousness and anger. The hunger that turned her sister away from her, that turned her soul to the devil himself. Her sister…….her fiery sister……Bella, named for a star, whose hunger had transformed her from a headstrong girl into a cruel woman, a woman who would destroy the lives of those she once loved, just to gain the power she though she deserved. A sister who would destroy her life for it.

For hunger.

And then, she met him and for a moment, she thought she would love him just because she didn't see it in his eyes, because he wasn't hungry for power or wealth or position. He wasn't hungry the way her family was. And he shone in her eyes with a special light, a special promise, especially when he gave her a white silk robe, trimmed with diamonds and whispered her name in her ear, sending shivers up and down her spine. "Narcissa the fair. My Narcissa."

And then……then she saw it. And Lucius Malfoy's silver shine varnished into cold, unbending steel. It invaded his eyes every time he kissed her or touched her silvery hair or ran a hand over her pale white skin as he lay beside her, his breath in her ear. She saw it in his eyes with a frightening intensity as he pulled her close to him, whispering soft words in her ear, sweet nothings with no meaning that had lost their kindness because of the steely glint in his eyes.

She saw it harden the man she loved as his desire for raw power overwhelmed his sensibilities and he knelt before the Dark Lord to take his vows of eternal service, his voice parting her loyalties, whispering in her ear. "I'm doing this for you, Cissy."

She saw it in her sister's eyes, glancing at the lord with a passion and a crazed lust, in her sister's once soft face as she stood above a cowering, bloody figure, a wand lying away, laughing as she pointed her want at the woman before her, taking her life without a second thought, breathing in the scent of blood like it was a perfume to feed her hunger, he bloodlust, her vengeance for being the forgotten sister, sandwiched between the beauty and the independent.

She saw it in her lord's red eyes as he watched her, glowing like coals or rubies or freshly spilled blood on a marble floor as he watched her move, his eyes on her curves. She saw it in his eyes as he leaned in to speak to her husband, a voice that asked Lucius to make the sacrifice he vowed to make the moment he took on the Dark Mark, to let his wife be taken by the Lord. She saw it when he talked to her in a silvery, whispering voice, a voice her sister wanted to hear more than any other. She saw it when he smiled at her in his snake-like way until she told him she was pregnant and his hunger for her, his carnal lust for her hardened. He frightened her.

And then……then she felt him kick. She saw his lovely gray eyes and she knew that she never wanted them hardened by hunger or pain or sorry. She felt him stir in her and she felt the need to protect him, to guard him from everything the world could throw at him, to spend every second with him. Her boy, her precious baby, her only son, her little golden boy, her only redemption, her only salvation. And she felt it when she saw him.

Hunger in its purest form……….love.

**PLEASE REVIEW!!!!! I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU.**

**Thanks for all the reviews! It's great to hear from everyone.**

I appoligize if I don't update often. My family and I will be traveling for the next few months. I'll update as often as I can get to a computer with a working internet connection.

Thanks!!!!!!


	29. Chapter 29: Fathers I

Disclaimer: JKR owns all of this.

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. :-D

Enjoy......!

Fathers I

She was his little girl. No matter what anyone else said, what anyone else claimed, she was his little girl. She was his Ginny, his precious, sweet little rose. His baby. He loved his sons, too. No man could ever say that Arthur Weasley didn't love his six sons, each with his hair and his eyes and his freckled, gawky face. But when he saw her for the first time, he realized that his little girl wans't him. She was her mother, and he'd never seen anyone more beautiful.

He still remembers the day she was born, the night when he, for a moment, thought he would lose both her and Molly. That terrible, wonderful night. Wizard births were never easy and the innate magical ability of the baby often caused complications that put both the mother and child at risk. But after six sons, he thought that she would be alright, that the birth would be easy, like it was for Ron, that it would be over quickly and that they could come home, he could come home to his boys to tell them the name of their new sister.

He remembers Molly's words, her desperate pleas to the healer, not to get rid of the pain but to give her her wand. "I'll feel better," she had said. "I'll feel better if you just let me curse something. I promise."

He remembers their kind replies, saying, "No, Mrs. Weasley, we can't do that. I'm sorry."

But he also remembers the faces of the healers, their worried expression as they poured over his wife, her labored form, telling him to expect the worst. And at that moment, he knew he would sacrifice his unborn daughter for her. At that moment, though he knew Molly would never forgive him, though he knew she would grieve for the baby, he thought that he would do anything to save her life, to protect her, even if it meant letting his unborn seventh child die.

When he saw Molly smile at him, weakly, a look in her eyes that he'd never seen before, he thought of the night his daughter was conceived and how beautiful she had looked, how magnificent, like a firebird, and he knew he would give anything for a night like that, even his daughter's life.

And then, before he knew it, she was born, and he'd never seen anyone more beautiful than her small, screaming form. If his sons were him in their eyes and features and hair, she was Molly. She looked exactly like her mother, her eyes a deep brown, beautiful, like the earth.

He remembers Molly's tired smile as she leaned back against the pillows of the bed, several hours after she was born, her eyes glittering as he held his baby daughter. She had only said one word to him as he stared down at her, his baby's name. "Ginevra." And he knew he wouldn't trade her life for anything, even Molly.

He was distraught when the time came for her to go to Hogwarts. He was lost without his little baby girl, and he saw the same sense of loss in Molly's eyes. He threatened to go to Hogwarts himself to see her when he received Percy's letters that she wasn't herself.

And when she was taken into the chamber…….it was the worst hours of his life, knowing that he could lose her, lose his innocent baby, his daughter, his last baby. But she was alive, and when she ran to him at the end of the year, he had never been happier to see her tiny form.

And every year, without fail, he was the first person she ran to when she got off the train from Hogwarts. Every year, he was the first person she hugged and clung to as she came home and the last person she said goodbye to when she left again.

But then………at the beginning of her seventh year, she said goodbye to him as she said goodbye to every other family member. It was Harry she clung too, waved goodbye to, even as the train curved around the bend and he knew he'd lost his baby.

When she came home that year, it was Harry she ran to first. It was the boy he loved as his own son whom she held the closest, kissing him with a fire and passion, the man she looked to for comfort and love. And he knew he wasn't the main man in his daughter's life.

When he gave her away at her wedding, when he saw her, looking exactly like her mother, blazing in white and silver, taking Harry's arm, vowing to be Mrs. Ginevra Potter for the rest of her days, when he kissed her, he knew he'd lost his little girl forever.

And he knew, then, that he could finally let her go.

**PLEASE REVIEW!!!!! I really want to know what you all think!!!!!**

**Also....thanks for all my reviewers. I really appreciate everything, both the praise and the honest critisism. Keep reading!!!!**


	30. Chapter 30: Guilt

**Disclaimer: ***Sigh* unfortunately, JKR owns everything, no matter how much I may wish that she didn't own Draco Malfoy, she does. Believe me, I would love to own Draco Malfoy.....really, I would. But .......she created him. I just play with him.......:-D

After the midnight premiere of the new HP movie, I knew I just had to do this.

Inspired by Draco's character in that movie.

Enjoy.

Guilt

When he first saw her, all he knew was that he couldn't do it. He couldn't hurt her. He couldn't force her to submit to his wand for something as stupid as being a muggleborn. He couldn't torture her for nothing more than her blood.

He didn't care that he would be tortured in turn. He didn't care that he was breaking the trust of everyone he loved. He didn't care that he was a Death Eater, that the Dark Lord, Headmaster Severus Snape and the Carrows all depended on him to maintain order, to kill whenever possible, to learn to torture someone properly. But when he saw her desperate blue eyes looking at him with an unspoken plea. And he knew he couldn't hurt Astoria Greengrass, the muggleborn girl sent to him for punishment.

When he first saw her, he grinned. He'd met her before. She was Myrtle's friend and the ghost had introduced them the year before. And he was caught in her desperate blue eyes.

"Draco," She'd sighed. "Draco, please…….please, I didn't mean to. I really didn't. Don't……."

He had knelt beside her, taking her unchained hand in his, feeling its cold against his own warm hand. "What happened, Astoria?" He'd asked.

"I swear, I didn't mean to," She'd protested. "I swear. Draco……..please, I swear, I didn't mean to do it. I don't know what happened. I swear. It was Peaves. Draco…….."

"What happened Astoria?" He had repeated, looking her steadily in the eye, trying not to cry as tears welled up in her startling blue eyes. They reminded him of Dumbledore's eyes, staring at him, looking deep in his soul, begging him, calmly, to remember who he is.

"I tripped down the stairs," She whispered. "On the third floor. I tripped down the stairs and spilled ink all over Professor Carrow's new robes. I swear. I didn't mean to. I couldn't help it. It was…….it was like I was confounded or something. I swear, I saw someone curse me. I felt it. I tried telling them but they wouldn't listen. And it doesn't help that I'm a…….a……..mudblood." The word came out as a whisper, a shameful secret, a shameful position.

"A muggleborn," Draco corrected gently and she turned to him in shock.

"Why did you say that?" She asked him. "Please, Draco, just……" She took a shaky breath. "Just do it. I can't get out of here till……..till……" She couldn't say it, but when she looked at him, he knew that he'd seen the look on her face before.

"How long are you in here?" He asked.

"Three weeks," She mumbled. Her eyes filled again as she moved.

"Here," Draco shook his head. He pulled out his wand and tapped the chain that held Astoria to the wall. The chain burst free, falling to the floor of the dungeon with a clatter. "I'm not a killer, Astoria. And I can't hurt you."

"Draco……"

"Go," He whispered, disillusioning her before leading her to the Room of Requirement. "I know that there are people here who can help you, get you to safety. Wait……" He turned and saw Neville Longbottom approaching. "Go," he whispered, lifting the charm on her and pushing her toward the boy. "He'll get you to safety, please, Astoria."

"You're not a killer, Draco," She whispered before turning to Neville. "And no matter how bad you feel about last year, remember that." She smiled at him. "Thank you."

When he met her in Paris after the war, she was the only one who made him feel whole again. He was the only one who made her feel human again. She gave him back his emotion.

"You're not a killer, Draco," She'd told him then too. "You never were. Even during……..even during that dark time, I…..I trusted you."

"Why would you trust me, Astoria," He had asked, his head in his hands. "Look at me. I'm branded by it. I'm……Look at me. Look at what I've done, what I could have done."

There were tears running down his cheeks as she knelt beside him in his bedroom in their Paris apartment. "Draco, you're not them. You're different."

"No, Astoria…..I'm not."

"Yes, yes you are."

She'd held him as he cried himself out. She'd held him close to her chest as he sobbed, shaking so hard that he was shaking the bead frame he sat on. She knelt beside him on the floor until he'd cried himself out. When his head finally cleared and he felt the sting of guilt once more, he knelt beside her, holding her to him as they cried together, their tears blending while the rain pounded outside the opaque window.

She'd held him until his guilt returned, and he knelt on one knee, holding up a diamond ring to her blue eyes and whispering his love for her in her ear and she slipped it on her third finger and kissed him passionately. When she rose to go, he looked at her wither his desperate, guild-ridden eyes.

"Please," He'd whispered. "Don't leave me. Don't go. You made me human again. My angel……my redemption. Please."

She smiled at him and held his hand and stayed with him that night, and every night after.

When he came to pick her up at the station after her last year in Hogwarts, the year after they met in Paris, she saw guilt and pain in his eyes as he eyed the stone wall of the castle and the plaque inscribed with the names of those who'd lost their lives there.

And she'd said it to him once more. "You're not a killer, Draco. You never were."

When he wakes up in the middle of the night, haunted by visions of blood and pain and death and feels the familiar feeling well up inside him, she's the one he goes to. She's the one who stays up half the night soothing his fears while their son sleeps in the crib beside them, his gentle breathing driving away all doubts.

And when he met Harry Potter for the first time as future in-laws right after Scorpious and Lily Potter announced their engagement, his eyes hardened with guilt as Harry Potter smiles at him coldly before going to congratulate his son, and she reminds him again.

But finally, when his grandson is born, when he sees Lily Potter-Malfoy, lying on a bed in St. Mungo's, his son beside her, placing a hand protectively on his son, on his baby, he feels Harry's hand on his back as he fights back tears. And he hears it again, driving away his guilt, driving away his fear, but it wasn't Astoria.

"You're not a killer, Draco," Harry had said. "You never were."

And when he turns to Harry in shock, Harry smiles.

"I trust you." And the guilt is finally gone.

**PLEASE REVIEW!!! I really want to know what you all think. And to those who have already reviewed, my thanks!! I really appreciate it. **

**Also, tell me about any other characters/events you'd like to see and I'll see what I can do.**

**:-D**


	31. Chapter 31: Green Eyes

**Disclaimer: JKR owns everything.**

This is a bit different than the others but I felt like it was a story waiting to be told.

Told from Petunia's point of view about Lily.

Enjoy!!!

Green Eyes

They were her mother's eyes. They were the eyes that comforted her as she cried when she was a little girl, the eyes that lit up when she told her a story, the eyes that she had always wanted, the one trait that she had always wanted to inherit from her mother, Andrea. They were, for her, the most beautiful sight in the world, the most comforting and warm color, bright green, in the shape of almonds, the eyes she had always wanted. But she had inherited her father's eyes, and for the first few years of her life, she didn't mind.

Then Lily was born. Her little sister was born with exactly her mother's eyes, with the startling green eyes that she had always wanted. And she felt the green monster of jealousy well up in her for the first time. She didn't have her mother's eyes. Lily did. Lily was the favorite, as always. Lily was the one her parents loved the most, as always. Lily was the special one, the one who could do anything, the perfect little daughter. And she was unwanted.

When Lily got her letter for Hogwarts, she saw her eyes sparkle the same way their mother's eyes sparkled every time she smiled. And her jealousy returned. Because her perfect sister had her mother's eyes, her beautiful mother's eyes, their grandmother's kind eyes, the eyes she had inherited from a long line of women, starting with their great-great-great grandmother, Lily Alexandria Davis.

And every time she returned on holiday from that…….that school, she saw Lily's eyes glitter. She saw green and she was reminded that she could never Lily's equal, that she could never stand up to her little sister, could never be better than her baby sister, the one who had stolen her mother's eyes, hardened them against her.

But then, Lily left. Just up and left. And she never saw her, even during the holidays. She never got a chance to say goodbye to Lily, to tell her that she loved her. And she never saw her eyes glitter in the same way and she never saw her sister again. She said goodbye that last time, that one last time right before Lily left for her last year at that school and Lily had begged her to forgive her, to talk, just once, and see her again as her sister again.

And then her parents died. She came home for Christmas only to find the house in ruins and a great green skull above the house and her parents' bodies lying in the kitchen, oddly positioned, staring up at her, and she was haunted by her mother's dead green stare for the rest of her life. How could she leave? How could they die like this? How?

And when saw her mother's eyes, she couldn't bring herself to close them from the world. She couldn't bring herself to touch her mother. Because only one other person in the world had those eyes. Only one other person in the world could sparkle and shine and laugh the way her mother did. And that person was the cause of her mother's death. And she was haunted by those vivid green eyes.

She saw Lily at her wedding with her boyfriend in a gown the same color as her eyes and was reminded immediately of their mother. And though, because of her grief, she could never bring herself to say anything, she knew her world would end if something happened to Lily. She knew that if those eyes closed forever, the world would fall to the same forces that had killed her mother, to the same darkness that had haunted their house after her parents died.

Those green eyes, she knew, would save her world. But even then, she couldn't bring herself to say that she still loved her sister.

And those eyes haunted her.

And then………

That fateful morning, when she opened her door and saw a baby boy asleep on the front step, a letter tucked into his small hand in a parchment envelope covered in violet writing, she didn't know what to do. Lily was gone from the world and she never had a chance to say goodbye, never had a chance to smile at her and say that she loved her, never…….never…….never told her that she forgave her, that she wanted her to love her again.

And when her nephew opened his eyes for the first time and smiled for his aunt, she knew her heart had broken for the last time. He had his mother's eyes. He had Lily's almond shaped, bright green eyes. He had his grandmother's eyes, the eyes that had stood up to darkness and had closed forever, leaving her alone on Privet Drive with nothing more than her memories.

And her heart never mended in the right way. She could never bring herself to be anything but vile to her nephew. Severs her right, she always thought. This is what Lily deserves for leaving me, for leaving us, and forcing me to take care of her son for her.

And somehow, she managed to convince herself that it was Lily's fault, that all the pain she ever felt was Lily's fault, that she couldn't be anyone because of Lily.

And her dreams were always visited by ghosts. She slept badly again. She saw her sister again.

And even after Lily's death, those green eyes haunted her.

Then Harry saved Dudley's life. He faced his mother's killer, lost his godfather, lost his mentor, lost everyone that he cared about. And she wanted to say something, say anything, and felt, for the first time in eighteen years, the need to explain herself to someone, to apologize to her sister, to tell her that she loved her, that her eyes……..

But couldn't say it. She couldn't open her mouth and form the words and talk to her nephew and give him the comfort he needed.

Because those were Lily's eyes staring at her in hatred, her mother's eyes.

And she never could see them without remembering her mother and sister. They froze her tongue, just like when she was younger.

But when she did apologize, when she did say she was sorry, that she loved him, that she loved his mother, that she wanted them to be a real family, they sparkled again.

And she could finally rest in peace. They stopped haunting her.

Then she saw them again, and her dream was complete when she held her grand nephew for the first time when he was a few months old and she had come to visit Harry. She saw him again and she introduced him to his cousin, Dudley's new born daughter Catherine.

They both had the same eyes. Almond shaped, bright green. And when she held them both to her chest, little Albus Severus Potter and even littler Catherine Amanda Dursley, she knew that her second chance had come.

She would love them, she promised. She would protect them and raise them to love and care and to be kind and courteous and sweet. She would change.

For Lily.

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